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Falcon football recruits dot North, South rosters
FAIRMONT — Flip through the North-South All-Star Football Classic game program and one thing immediately jumps out.
No, it’s not the long list of all-state performers that took part in the June 21 contest. Rather, it’s the unusually high number planning to continue their gridiron careers at Fairmont State University.
Of the 72 players that made up the North and South teams, 19 — more than a fourth — are incoming Falcon football recruits.
For FSU head coach Mike Lopez, the logic behind a roster loaded with in-state talent is fairly simple: It, in his view, gives the program its best chance to consistently compete in the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
“History has shown we can win with these kids. I did it myself,” Lopez, a standout defensive end for the Falcons in the late 1990s, said. “This year, we really wanted to highlight it.”
Bridgeport offensive lineman Josh Kniceley, among the first wave of players to sign with the Falcons, has his own way of putting it.
“(Coach Lopez) says he wants a West Virginia all-star team,” Kniceley said.
While keeping talent within state lines is nothing new, it’s not always the preferred route for every WVC football program. Shepherd University, located along the state’s Eastern Panhandle, had just two West Virginia players — Greenbrier East’s Tyler McClintic and Hampshire’s Bryan Beverage — on its 2007 roster, focusing instead on Maryland and Virginia.
“In West Virginia, you’ve got kids competing against smaller amounts of kids,” Lopez said. “In West Virginia, you’re often starting for four years. The three-week practice period (implemented several years ago) has helped; we’ve seen improvements in skills.
“These kids can play. Maybe no one else wants to give them a chance, but we believe in these West Virginia kids.”
That belief is far-ranging, and not limited to players labeled as Division II material. In fact, Lopez and his staff contacted Parkersburg blue chip offensive lineman Josh Jenkins — who ultimately chose West Virginia University over several other DI powerhouses — about coming to Fairmont.
Sure, seeing Jenkins in maroon and white is as likely as Bill Stewart leaving WVU to join the Michigan coaching staff, but it shows the lengths Lopez will go to acquire in-state talent.
“We want to get everyone in the state,” Lopez said. “Just because they’re a (Division I) guy doesn’t mean we’ll shy away from them.”
In some instances, the persistence pays off. FSU recently signed Richwood’s Shawn Murphy, a 6-3, 280-pound lineman who was an invited walk-on at Marshall.
Keeping things in the proverbial family has other advantages. In the week leading up to the game, North players — Falcons’ recruits in particular — became close. They ate meals as a group and hung out together the majority of the week, even if most of their time was spent on the practice field.
Kniceley went a step further in describing the fast friendship with future teammates.
“We just clicked right away,” Kniceley said after the South’s 24-14 victory. “I think we are a team now. And that’s a big advantage going in as freshmen; we all know each other.
“This was a big stepping stone from high school to college. You meet new people; you meet your future teammates and you get to play with them. I made some lifetime friends here.”
Added East Fairmont’s L.T. Harbert, another key FSU recruit: “I didn’t know anyone before I got here, even (North Marion’s Josh) Harvey. But in a pretty short amount of time, we got pretty close.”
It’s a bond likely to become even stronger in time.
E-mail Nick Cammuso at ncammuso@timeswv.com.
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IUP holds off determined FSU, 71-67
Fairmont State’s men’s basketball team came oh so close to pulling off a shocker here Saturday evening against Indiana (Pa.) University, the nation’s No. 2 team, in the opening round of the NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional at the Crimson Hawks’ Memorial Field House.
The eighth-seeded Falcons took the top-seeded Crimson Hawks to the wire before falling 71-67.
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FSU faces IUP in D-II Tourney opener
The wait is over.
For the first time since the 1999-2000 season, Fairmont State’s men’s basketball team finds itself back in the NCAA Division II Tournament.
The eighth-seeded Falcons (22-7) open play in the Atlantic Regional tonight at 7:30 p.m. against top-seeded Indiana (Pa.) University (28-2) at the Crimson Hawks’ Memorial Field House.
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Top-ranked Gannon rolls past FSU
It took top-seeded and unbeaten Gannon (Pa.) University about nine minutes to get warmed up here Friday night in front of a near-capacity crowd of over 1,700 fans at the Hammermill Center.
Then the Lady Knights showed eighth-seeded Fairmont State why they’re the No. 1 team in the nation.
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FSU players eager to face powerful IUP
When the announcement came Sunday evening, Steve Custis was the first Fairmont State player to leap from his seat.
The Falcons’ sophomore guard and leading scorer (16.7 ppg) was grinning from ear to ear after it was revealed that his team had made the field of 64 for the NCAA Division II Men’s Basketball Tournament ...
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FSU women tangle with No. 1 Gannon
It’s the classic David versus Goliath storyline.
Fairmont State’s Lady Falcons (aka David) reached tonight’s opening round of the NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional the only way it could this season — by winning the West Virginia Conference Tournament last week.
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FSU’s Vavrek named All-Atlantic Region
Four WVIAC women’s basketball stars are part of the 2009-10 Daktronics All-Atlantic Region squad. West Liberty’s Tori Hansen and Glenville State's Donita Adams are first team selections, while Fairmont State’s Ashley Vavrek and West Liberty's Laura Malernee earned their way onto the second team.
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Murray’s play crucial to FSU’s success
Rachel Murray is no stranger to national tournaments.
Fairmont State’s 6-3 junior center from Gloucester, Mass. made two appearances in the National Junior College Athletic Association Tournament when she played for the Community College of Rhode Island and helped lead the Lady Knights to a 23-8 overall record in 2008-09 and an appearance in the NJCAA “Elight Eight.”
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Bruner, O’Connor looking forward to regional
When the final horn sounded last Thursday night at the Charleston Civic Center signifying the end of Charleston’s 101-90 victory over Fairmont State in the West Virginia Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament quarterfinals Falcon seniors Dan Bruner and Pete O’Connor embraced one another for a brief moment and patted each other on the head and back fearing the end of their careers had come.
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IUP, Gannon pose big challenges for FSU
The tasks will be tall for Fairmont State’s men’s and women’s basketball teams who both qualified together for the NCAA Division II Basketball Tournament for the first time in school history.
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Deserving honor
Ashley Vavrek’s Most Valuable Player-winning performance in the recent West Virginia Conference Tournament helped Fairmont State claim its second league tournament title in three years and earn its third NCAA Division II Tournament berth in the last six seasons.
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IUP holds off determined FSU, 71-67
